Welcome PokéForce, to our Quarter 3 State of the Game!
The Staff Team and I are really excited to go over the exciting changes we've gone through since our State Of The Game: Q2 Announcement, and we would also like to give you some more information on our upcoming Demo!
From finishing up our Godot transition, to hosting our Beta Tester Programme, establishing core community fundamentals, and to now finally moving into polishing stages for the upcoming Demo, there's a lot to sink our teeth into. So, without further ado, let us begin!
We briefly went over how developing UI, and core systems such as multi-player was still in progress, but since we picked back up at the end of April, things have been rolling fast. The contrast from our old LibGDX client to our new Godot client is quite literally, night & day.
Since our last Godot transition update, we've since added:
There has also been a lot of work being put into the game itself to make it feel smooth, and general Quality of Life enhancements that we didn't see in our LibGDX client. The most exciting addition has been the extra support for Controllers going into the game, making the game feel natural while playing with a Controller. This is great news as we look forward to working on our Mobile ports since we'll need to ensure that Mobile controls are as seamless as it is on PC.
Godot has been a fantastic change for the team, and as we continue to keep learning the intricacies of the Engine itself, we'll be able to keep pushing the limits of what a Pokémon game can be. All that's left is to finish up what we're adding for this Demo, and you'll be able to come try the changes yourself!
I've also been approached multiple times to see if there was still room on the Beta Programme, or if we'll be opening applications any time soon, and I just want to stress that we started with a select core group of testers for the pre-Demo to address things on a more personal level. I will be opening applications back up post-Demo and will be a bit more lenient with how many people are coming into the Programme. Of course, the whole goal of the Programme is to find bugs, and improve the game as a whole, so please don't expect to come into the Programme and consider it "early access".
That being said, all Beta Testers who contribute to the overall improvement of the game will be awarded our new Beta Tester Badge, which will be displayed on their Trainer Cards once we launch. There are no other added benefits to being a part of our Beta Programme.
You'll be able to find various answers to frequently asked questions, and perhaps some new information that you didn't know about! Give this a good read-over to find out what to expect for PokéForce!
Please, keep in mind that this document will be constantly updated to reflect the new information and changes that will happen during the development of the game!
Please give them a warm welcome and thank them for their relentless pursuit of helping us make PokéForce the best Pokémon MMO game yet!
Unfortunately, we've had to say goodbye to the following people:
We are planning to host this Demo for a total of 2 weeks which should give everyone enough time to experience everything we have to offer this time around, as well as obtain our super-secret Summer Demo Cosmetic! Similar to our Delibird Hat, you'll be able to finish all of the content in this Demo, and obtain a permanent tradable Cosmetic that will attach itself to your account and be available to you once we launch.
Once we've got the intricacies of our Battle Engine worked out, we'll be confirming the date of the Demo, as well as the Cosmetic involved, but gear up PokéForce, we are closer than ever to hosting our next Demo! The team is extremely excited for you to try this one out, as it really starts to set in stone what we plan the game to look like for launch; and gives you a taste of what we are putting together.
That's all from us this time, so please enjoy this collection of screenshots and GIFs that have been collected during Development and get ready for the best Demo that PokéForce has seen yet!
The Staff Team and I are really excited to go over the exciting changes we've gone through since our State Of The Game: Q2 Announcement, and we would also like to give you some more information on our upcoming Demo!
From finishing up our Godot transition, to hosting our Beta Tester Programme, establishing core community fundamentals, and to now finally moving into polishing stages for the upcoming Demo, there's a lot to sink our teeth into. So, without further ado, let us begin!
Godot Transition Status: Complete
The last time we discussed our transition to Godot, we had some exciting news in store in regards to learning how Godot works fundamentally and how we can leverage that into making the game faster and with a higher level of polish.
We briefly went over how developing UI, and core systems such as multi-player was still in progress, but since we picked back up at the end of April, things have been rolling fast. The contrast from our old LibGDX client to our new Godot client is quite literally, night & day.
Since our last Godot transition update, we've since added:
- Support for Data Type Definitions
This includes things such as Resource Nodes, Items, NPCs, Modals, Emotes, Animations, Varbits, Clothing, and Dialogue.
- Fully-featured Bag system, including a Hotbar for quick use of items
This works very similar to Stardew Valley, where you'll use tools and items from your hotbar to interact with the game.
- Fully-functioning Lighting System
You'll see these effects in their fullest potential in places such as Dark Cave, or at Night in the overworld!
- Various cores of Skills
So far, we've added the ability to engage in Mining, Foraging (including Woodcutting), and Farming.
- Overworld Wild Pokémon
These instanced Pokémon can show up and appear on the overworld while you're playing the game, giving you another option to Shiny Hunt, as well as breathe some life into the maps.
- Different Movement Types
New movement types include Running, Biking, Rafting, and Jumping. Purchase or discover the relevant vehicle items and take yourself to new areas.
- Clothing System
Instead of just picking your clothing out from cosmetic hell that would be a UI, you can now equip clothing directly from your Bag, or visit Boutiques to purchase new clothing types. So, clothing now acts as an item rather than a random "style" you own in a tucked-away UI.
- Marts
These are Silph Co. owned Marts found in each major city, and will stock basic trainer supplies such as Poké Balls, or healing items.
- Equipment System
This differs from our Cosmetic system, where you'll be able to equip more permanent tools such as a Lantern, or Exo-Gauntlets. You'll need to manage which equipment you're bringing with you while exploring PokeForce, so make sure to plan ahead!
- Main Menu System
This also works very similar to Stardew Valley, where you can access most of your general information such as your Party, Main Bag, Quests, Trainer Card, Skills & Achievements, and Game Settings.
- Local Shops
Different from Silph Co.-owned Marts, these Local Shops are spread around the map and sell artisan goods or items that a trainer might need to progress through the game.
- Day/Night Cycle
A fully featured Day/Night cycle that will determine what type of content is available. The current phases are Dawn, Morning, Day, Dusk, and Night.
- Support for a new Dialogue System that is code-free
This one is very exciting, as it has allowed our Designers who aren't familiar with code to help assist with adding all the dialogue required for quests, or game interactions!
- Vastly improved Server Core
This was a personal project of mine, where we tossed out our old server core for something a bit more reliable. I'm pretty happy to announce that it has been extremely stable in our Beta Programme, and we've yet to run into any stability issues that are a direct effect of the core itself. I've been able to leave the server up for days on end without so much as a hitch! What's even cooler is that it runs on a clean 200MB of Memory. I was able to do some local tests with over 2000 players, and we were getting under 12 millisecond cycle times, so it'll be fun to see how it performs in a real-world Demo!
There has also been a lot of work being put into the game itself to make it feel smooth, and general Quality of Life enhancements that we didn't see in our LibGDX client. The most exciting addition has been the extra support for Controllers going into the game, making the game feel natural while playing with a Controller. This is great news as we look forward to working on our Mobile ports since we'll need to ensure that Mobile controls are as seamless as it is on PC.
Godot has been a fantastic change for the team, and as we continue to keep learning the intricacies of the Engine itself, we'll be able to keep pushing the limits of what a Pokémon game can be. All that's left is to finish up what we're adding for this Demo, and you'll be able to come try the changes yourself!
PokéForce Beta Programme
Since our last major announcement on our Discord regarding the Beta Programme, I'm also happy to report that it has been a "smashing" success, with our Beta Testers helping to significantly improve the game in all facets. The team and I have been hard at work addressing the bugs that have been reported, listening to feedback, and playtesting the game, and the difference from when we initially launched the Beta to them, to now has made me extremely confident in how the game is coming along.
I've also been approached multiple times to see if there was still room on the Beta Programme, or if we'll be opening applications any time soon, and I just want to stress that we started with a select core group of testers for the pre-Demo to address things on a more personal level. I will be opening applications back up post-Demo and will be a bit more lenient with how many people are coming into the Programme. Of course, the whole goal of the Programme is to find bugs, and improve the game as a whole, so please don't expect to come into the Programme and consider it "early access".
That being said, all Beta Testers who contribute to the overall improvement of the game will be awarded our new Beta Tester Badge, which will be displayed on their Trainer Cards once we launch. There are no other added benefits to being a part of our Beta Programme.
Game FAQ
Recently, our gracious Staff Team worked together to compile a comprehensive Gameplay FAQ, of which you can also consult the Chinese and Spanish versions! More translations are in the works, like a Turkish and Italian one.
You'll be able to find various answers to frequently asked questions, and perhaps some new information that you didn't know about! Give this a good read-over to find out what to expect for PokéForce!
Please, keep in mind that this document will be constantly updated to reflect the new information and changes that will happen during the development of the game!
PokéForce Team Updates
We're happy to announce the following additions to our team:
- @Lambo joins the team as a new Moderator, and as a liaison with our Chinese Community working alongside @MuZi
- @Kesshoketsu has returned to the team in an Administrative capacity
- @Fizz has transferred over to the Moderation team
- @Lucina joins the team as a Community Guide, helping to prepare and manage events
- @Kenoxy joins the Development team as a Sprite Artist!
Please give them a warm welcome and thank them for their relentless pursuit of helping us make PokéForce the best Pokémon MMO game yet!
Unfortunately, we've had to say goodbye to the following people:
- @Kat has left for personal reasons
- @Lucy has left for personal reasons
- @Kazenco has left for personal reasons
We wish them luck in their future endeavors!
PokéForce Summer Demo!
With all of the updates out of the way, it is with my pleasure to announce that we are confirming the Summer Demo to be happening in the month of August! There are a couple last minute things we're still working tirelessly on such as getting our Battle Engine up and running, and implementing the last bits of content we've got planned for the Demo, but we are very happy to report that we are on track for the Demo to go live this August!
We are planning to host this Demo for a total of 2 weeks which should give everyone enough time to experience everything we have to offer this time around, as well as obtain our super-secret Summer Demo Cosmetic! Similar to our Delibird Hat, you'll be able to finish all of the content in this Demo, and obtain a permanent tradable Cosmetic that will attach itself to your account and be available to you once we launch.
Once we've got the intricacies of our Battle Engine worked out, we'll be confirming the date of the Demo, as well as the Cosmetic involved, but gear up PokéForce, we are closer than ever to hosting our next Demo! The team is extremely excited for you to try this one out, as it really starts to set in stone what we plan the game to look like for launch; and gives you a taste of what we are putting together.
Sneak Peeks and Closing Remarks
The team and I just want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support through this project! It has been a dream come true for a lot of us to make this game, and we're just as excited as you are to make it a reality! Of course, it wouldn't be possible without such a lovely community, and so it's you that we're excited for the most. We hope that we can deliver on the expectations we have not only set out for ourselves but for you. <3
That's all from us this time, so please enjoy this collection of screenshots and GIFs that have been collected during Development and get ready for the best Demo that PokéForce has seen yet!
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when it comes out. Could it be a sun hat? Something that's themed after a Pokémon like 
(except me always missing the group pictures
)